CONCLUSION THEMES OF AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC

Music and Identity Race and ethnicity Race and ethnicity –White fascination with black music –Relationship between African American and European American musical traditions –Latin American tradition Sexuality and gender Sexuality and gender –Stylized images and stereotypes of American men –Stylized images and stereotypes of American women –Relationships between men and women –Love and sex  Censorship  Nonheterosexual relationships

Music and Identity Class distinctions Class distinctions –Popular music is full of references to wealth, poverty, and the effect of economic matters on the human heart. Generational identity Generational identity –Has been crucial to the workings of the American music industry –Twelve- to sixteen-year-old age bracket—patrons of teenybopper acts like the Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls, and Britney Spears –Seventeen- to twenty-five-year-old age bracket—important to the industry’s sales of rock, rap, and alternative music –Popular music provides a unique window into the changing conceptions of adolescence.

Technology and the Music Business Innovations that have changed the way popular music has been produced and disseminated via the mass media Innovations that have changed the way popular music has been produced and disseminated via the mass media –Phonograph (1877) –Radio (1922) –Electric microphone (1925) –Sound film (1927) –Magnetic tape-recording and the long-playing disc (1940s) –FM radio (1950s) –Home video, cable television –Portable tape player –Digital recording and the compact disc

Technology New technologies have opened up creative possibilities for artists. New technologies have opened up creative possibilities for artists. Technology has not always been an agent of change. Technology has not always been an agent of change. Digital technologies have enabled artists to excavate the musical past by sampling segments of earlier performances. Digital technologies have enabled artists to excavate the musical past by sampling segments of earlier performances.

The ADAT Introduced in 1992 by Alesis Introduced in 1992 by Alesis Became the new standard for digital music making Became the new standard for digital music making Eight-track digital synthesizer recorder that could expand to 128 tracks with the addition of units Eight-track digital synthesizer recorder that could expand to 128 tracks with the addition of units Consumers could set up home studios inexpensively Consumers could set up home studios inexpensively Professionals could use the same technology to create highly sophisticated digital sound facilities. Professionals could use the same technology to create highly sophisticated digital sound facilities.

Pro-Tools Music software program designed to run on personal computers Music software program designed to run on personal computers Enabled recording engineers and musicians to control every parameter of musical sound, including not only pitch and tempo but also the quality of a singer’s voice or an instrumentalist’s timbre Enabled recording engineers and musicians to control every parameter of musical sound, including not only pitch and tempo but also the quality of a singer’s voice or an instrumentalist’s timbre

The Music Business Clear Channel Clear Channel –Publicly traded corporation that owns more than 1,200 radio stations, 39 television stations, 100,000 advertising billboards, and 100 live performance venues, enabling them to present more than 70 percent of all live events nationwide.

The Internet Vast concatenation of millions of computers linked by a global network Vast concatenation of millions of computers linked by a global network MP3—digital file compression system that enables sound files to be compressed to as little as one-twelfth of their original size MP3—digital file compression system that enables sound files to be compressed to as little as one-twelfth of their original size

File Sharing and Free Downloading MP3.com MP3.com –Founded in 1997 by Michael Robertson –The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a lawsuit against MP3.com in MP3.com was forced to remove all files owned by the corporations.

Napster –Internet-based software program that enabled computer users to share and swap files –The RIAA filed a suit against Napster, and a court injunction forced it to shut down its operations in February 2001.

Peer-to-Peer Peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing networks were established in the wake of Napster’s closure. Peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing networks were established in the wake of Napster’s closure. –The services claim exemption from copyright law because there is no central server in which music files are even temporarily stored, and thus no “place” in cyberspace to which an act of copyright violation can be traced, apart from the millions of network users.

iPod Introduced in 2001 by Apple Computer Introduced in 2001 by Apple Computer Could store up to 1000 songs on its internal hard drive Could store up to 1000 songs on its internal hard drive Enabled listeners to create unique libraries of music reflecting their personal tastes Enabled listeners to create unique libraries of music reflecting their personal tastes “Podcasting”—method of online audio distribution in which digital sound files are uploaded to a website and listeners can automatically download files to portable players “Podcasting”—method of online audio distribution in which digital sound files are uploaded to a website and listeners can automatically download files to portable players

Digital Technology Liberates the content of a recording from its physical medium Liberates the content of a recording from its physical medium –Involves the translation of musical sound into pure information, encoded in streams of ones and zeros –Music can be transmitted, reproduced, and manipulated in a “virtual” form, free from the constraints of any particular technology.

Centers and Peripheries The mainstream and its margins The mainstream and its margins –At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain the distinction between the mainstream of popular music and its margins. Two concepts: Two concepts: –There is a musical mainstream and there are margins, involving cultural and stylistic distinctions that have grown more and more blurry over time. –The market for popular music has an economic and institutional center and a periphery.

The Mainstream and Its Margins In the early twentieth century, these two dichotomies fit together neatly. In the early twentieth century, these two dichotomies fit together neatly. By the end of the century, the two dichotomies as well as the correlation between them had broken down almost completely. By the end of the century, the two dichotomies as well as the correlation between them had broken down almost completely. The spread of digital technology seems to be completing a process of total decentralization, as anybody with a computer anywhere can, with increasing ease, produce and market his or her own recordings. The spread of digital technology seems to be completing a process of total decentralization, as anybody with a computer anywhere can, with increasing ease, produce and market his or her own recordings. The rise of international pop superstars and the emergence of world music as a distinct category suggest that the center-and-periphery concept must be recast in truly global terms. The rise of international pop superstars and the emergence of world music as a distinct category suggest that the center-and-periphery concept must be recast in truly global terms.